Frequently used tropical beach project

Initial situation:

The beach is just over 300 meters long and is surrounded by a large area of very high palm trees and plants that are typical of Caribbean beaches and other invasive plant life.

The place is beautiful and pleasant but it is highly degraded due to the intensive use made of it by visitors and people selling food and drink and due to the traffic and uncontrolled parking of vehicles. There was also a serious problem caused by the remains of dirt both in the dead plant life as well as rubbish left by visitors.

All the plant life has seeded itself naturally and the entrances to the beach, as well as the interior roads in the area of the palm trees, are lacking in organisation. There was a great lack of equipment and it was poorly distributed for the kind of beach in question.

The frequency of visitors and vehicles was significant. The lack of regulation at the entrances was causing a process of degradation that could become irreversible if it is not dealt with soon.

Objectives of the intervention:

• To preserve the local plant life and to carry out work to organise and clean up all the invasive plant life.
• To organise and regulate the entrances and to transform the area of the palm trees into a pedestrian area for recreational use and for services for visitors.
• To create a parking area for vehicles in a nearby place.
• To make the very most of the bathing area and to provide it with life-saving equipment.
• To install the necessary equipment to be able to offer the services that a modern beach should have.

Specific proposals that are being recommended:

We have proposed carrying out the selection of plant life to be preserved and the cutting back or removal of certain invasive plants to enable local plant life to grow correctly. We propose planting palm trees and Coccoloba uvifera L. in certain areas to occupy the freed spaces.

Wheeled access by private vehicles to the beach and the area of the palm trees has been stopped, only allowing access to authorised ambulances, police and cleaning vehicles. A nearby area has been chosen as a car park.

The entire area has been signposted with panels and indicators showing the way. They all share a homogenous design and fit in with the environment.

Various elements have been chosen that can be installed in the area depending on the services that you wish to offer visitors.

As an example, the following elements have been installed:

• An information point (tourism and beach police);
• A medical care and first aid service post;
• Two life-saving and rescue points.
• A services area with WCs and points of sale for food and drinks.
• A shaded area for selling traditionally-made local products.
• A large number of containers for selective waste collection.
• Showers and footbaths between the beach area and the palm tree area.
• A wooden platform for recreational activities.
• An area with children's games.